Across the United States, an alarming trend is emerging, severely limiting parental oversight of their adolescent children’s health records. Particularly distressing is the situation for military families, whose access to their children’s online health records through the Military Health System (MHS) Genesis is being unjustifiably restricted. This not only impacts their ability to manage their children’s healthcare effectively but also raises serious concerns about the encroachment on parental rights—an issue that should alarm anyone who believes in the sanctity of the family unit.
In this brave new world, the Department of Defense (DoD) dictates that parents are not entitled to know the specifics of their teenagers’ medical discussions unless they’re 18, effectively sidelining them from crucial health decisions. This policy is a slap in the face to military parents who sacrifice so much for our nation. They deserve transparency and involvement in their children’s health care, not exclusion and secrecy.
The consequences of such policies are profound. Consider the chilling case in Louisiana, where parents were blindsided by a medical provider who, after a mere hour with their 13-year-old, pressed them to accept their daughter’s sudden transgender identity with a grotesque ultimatum: “Would you rather have a dead daughter or a live son?” Such scenarios, where ideologically driven doctors push narratives that can lead to irreversible decisions, underscore the dangers of excluding parents from sensitive health discussions.
The encroachment doesn’t stop at the opaque walls of healthcare privacy either. It seeps into education, where schools on military bases and even some public schools are facilitating secretive gender transitions, unbeknownst to parents. This overreach is part of a disturbing trend where educational and medical institutions take on parental roles, deciding what is best for children without actual parental input.
Our military families face enough challenges without the added strain of navigating a healthcare system that alienates them from their children’s medical decisions. This isn’t just an overreach; it’s a direct assault on the family unit by a bureaucracy more committed to progressive social agendas than to serving the needs of its community. We cannot allow the DOD or any other institution to undermine parental rights. Military parents must be vigilant and demand that their voices be heard. They need to challenge these overreaching policies and advocate for their inherent rights as parents.
The push to obscure parental access to adolescent health records is more than just a bureaucratic shuffle; it’s a dangerous precedent that puts the welfare of our nation’s youth at risk. We need to support our military families by restoring their rights to guide their children’s health care without government interference. This battle is about protecting our children and the parental rights that are foundational to our American values.
